The 7 Original Heroes of the Movement
Featured Hero: Dr. Joel Fuhrman
Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a US-based celebrity physician advocating for the micronutrient-rich diet, and is just one of the voices joining Hippocrates Docs and the Just 1 Thing 4 Health (J1T4H) program. Dr. Fuhrman is a former competitive figure skater, suffering a serious injury which removed him from competition in 1973. After following an alternative medicine treatment plan, an “irregular cure” from a naturopath, Dr. Fuhrman was able to speed up his recovery. It is this experience that he credits with sparking his interest in alternative medicine, and the catalyst for his becoming a physician.
Dr. Fuhrman’s practice is based on a nutrition-based approach to obesity and chronic disease, also known as a nutritarian or restrictive diet. He has written several books promoting his dietary approaches, and runs his own line of nutrition-related products; including his book, Eat to Live, that was on the New York Times bestseller paperback list for 90 weeks. Written to assist everyday Americans improve their blood pressure, cholesterol, and much more, Dr. Fuhrman’s six-week plan demonstrates that foods high in nutrients and low in calories allow people to feel fuller for longer. A vegetarian, vegan, low-salt, low-fat and gluten-free diet, Dr. Fuhrman’s nutritarian diet unleashes the body’s ability to heal, achieve optimal weight and slow the ageing process.
Dr. Fuhrman advocates eating at least one pound of raw vegetables and another pound of cooked vegetables each day. He has popularized the notion of nutrient density under his Health Equation: Health = Nutrients/Calories (or, H = N/C). He is also the pioneer of the “Aggregate Nutrient Density Index”, or ANDI, a ranking of foods based on their micronutrient concentration, a measure now adopted by Whole Foods.
Appearing on hundreds of radio and television productions, including The Dr. Oz Show, The Today Show, Live with Kelly, and Good Morning America, Dr. Fuhrman has dedicated his career to educating millions of Americans on the long-range benefits of healthy eating. His four, hugely successful, PBS specials have raised over $35 million for public television; together, they bring essential nutritional knowledge to kitchens all across the country. He is the author six New York Times best sellers: Eat to Live (2003); Super Immunity (2012); The End of Diabetes (2013); The Eat to Live Cookbook (2013); The End of Dieting (2014) and The End of Heart Disease (2016).
Dr. Fuhrman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1988, and is a board-certified family physician. He also serves as President of the Nutritional Research Foundation and on the faculty of Northern Arizona University, Health Sciences Division. Over the course of his 25-year career, Dr. Fuhrman has helped countless Americans achieve sustainable weight loss and reverse heart disease, diabetes and a host of other illnesses. Using smart nutrition, his medical practice, books and television specials, he continues to share his life-saving message with hundreds of thousands of people around the world.